A gallery of outstanding murals from artist and street artist Dan Kitchener (DANK)
All photographs by Scooj
Dan Kitchener
Tag: Urban
4020. Cumberland Basin
Well this is a real beauty from alien specialist Nugmoose down in Cumberland Basin. All in black and embellished with bright colourful flowers, this five-eyed alien is difficult to ignore, and plays to all of Nugmoose’s quirky strengths.
Nothing lasts very long on this wall, so I was very pleased to get pictures of this one before it was painted over. No signature required from this artist, because his style and content is fairly recognisable, but just in case there is doubt, the alien script, in this instance on the character’s forehead, is a dead give away. An enjoyable piece from Nugmoose.
4019. Brunel Way (126)
There is a relatively new artist in town (at least he has been painting more frequently) who in a few short months has been making an impression with some lovely character/animal pieces. He is Tack Jucker (see what he did there with his name?) and made his debut on Natural Adventures with a monkey piece in Sparke Evans Park, a week or so back.
Here we have another monkey piece, and I managed to catch up with the artist and a friend while he was finishing this one off. He is friends with Nightwayss and that is rather apt as both appear to enjoy painting monkeys. This melting-face individual has smoke discharging from its eyes and seems to be more horror-based than natural history-based. It is a fine piece and one of several in the pipeline.
4018. Purdown HAA Battery (37)
Of all the newer artists in Bristol, I think I know the least about Skronius. Keeping a low profile seems to be the order of the day, or maybe our paths simply haven’t crossed yet. Skronius certainly favours this spot, and since I only visit about once every three weeks or so, the likelihood of meeting are pretty slim.
I would say that fantasy creatures and worlds are favoured by Skronius, and this dragon head is quite fabulous. His style really doesn’t look like spray-painting, and this piece in particular looks like it could be a watercolour. I think Skronius achieves this effect by laying down the character colours first and then adding in the detail with the black lines. However it is done, it is an unusual effect. I love the way it is signed in the smoke in the top left-hand corner.
4017. M32 roundabout J3 (354)
This is a very appealing colour selection for this fiery Pekoe piece on the M32 roundabout. Another interesting feature is that Pekoe has given us more than just a portrait, which is the norm with her work, and we have the top halfI of the character.
I think that this might be an early Halloween piece, or it is simply a cheeky devil, either way it is nice to see, and I love the little winged orange emoji-type thing. Brace yourself for a season of Halloween pieces, which seem to be getting more and more popular every year.
4016. Dean Lane skate park (434)
Life is full of nice surprises, and this was certainly one of them. Every once in a while, Xenz pays a visit to Bristol and leaves behind some exquisite artwork. I found this one on my ’rounds’ a week or two back and was extra pleased because I hadn’t seen in on social media, and it must have been pretty new.
Xenz specialises in creating fantasy pieces that portray those ‘sunlit uplands’ we hear so much about from our useless government. This piece of clever writing, spelling XENZ features classical buildings, statues and gardens perched on walls and hillsides, set in a pink, otherworldly landscape/cloudscape. Inspirational excellence from Xenz.
4015. M32 Spot (121)
This is a joyous celebration of Pirate Wall Art (PWA) by Soap, Face 1st and Nightwayss alongside the slip road off the M32 J2 roundabout. In this piece the three friends have combined to fill the space with icons and tags that they use in their work. It is almost like a giant doodle, and a concept these three are having some fun with at the moment.
There are so many little bits to this collaboration, and it is one of those true collaborations where all the artists have combined to make the whole. The faces are by Face 1st, the mouthy skulls are by Soap and the monkeys by Nightwayss. The only mystery is the blue-faced character with the crown, top left, which I think is by Soap.
A whole bundle of fun.
4014. River Avon (19)
A new name that has cropped up a lot recently is Desi, and on meeting her for the first time last week, I felt it would be fitting to start posting her work. I believe that she has only been spraying walls for about a year, but her progress has been rapid and she is producing some nice work.
Desi is an artist who uses the same letters in a broadly similar style, but decorates them differently, testing out different colour combinations and painting techniques. This is a fairly straightforward piece with a green fill and blue highlights bound with a black border and 3D shadow. The final touches of stars add interest. I am so full of admiration of anyone who gives it a go, and am inspired too. I wonder when I will find a moment and have the courage to spray my first wall.
The first of many Desi posts I’m sure.
4013. M32 roundabout J3 (353)
The third piece by Smut on Natural Adventures, and I couldn’t put it any better than the artist himself does… “Everybody loves Smut”. Well if not everybody, at least I do, and that’s what matters.
As with his other pieces, it is the sharpness of his lines that really catches the eye, and the script form of the whiting is rather seductive. This is a really accomplished piece, as the fills demonstrate. I’m looking forward to meeting the artist at some point in the future, if only to find out about the techniques used.
4012. Princess Street (2), Burnham-on-Sea
John D’oh is an artist whose work I have enjoyed enormously over the years, but I simply don’t see his work all that often as he tends to scatter it around the West of England and often in places I don’t visit often. Well Burnham-on-Sea is a bit of a John D’oh goldmine, so this is the first of several posts of his work from this sleepy town.
This is a typical single-layer stencil from John D’oh that is humorous with strong undertones of seriousness. His work often features political satire, and he is definitely a visual commentator, chronicler and observer of our time. Here though the simple message is illustrated with a mildly macabre scene, and one that many cat owners will be all too familiar with. It was great to find this and several other pieces on my trip to the coast.
Natural adventures 